These activitists include those involved in the anti-Posco movement, Plachimada, Bhopal gas tragedy, Jaitapur and the like. The victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984 and the water contamination by Dow Chemicals in Bhopal will be the special guests . They will be joined by adivasi groups and cultural teams from across India.

Shankar Mahanand, award winning playwright and convener of Sanskrutik Andolan, Odisha who was instrumental in leading a cultural yatra for peace and harmony after the Kandhamal riots in the state and Jharkhand mines area coordination committee general secretary Surinder Tirkey will also take part in the programme.

This was announced by Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, member of national co-ordination committee, Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), while speaking at a seminar organized by CNDP here on Sunday. He said the government was unnecessarily exposing the coastline and its people to nuclear hazards. Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan, Ninan Koshy and R V G Menon also took part in the seminar.

Leader of opposition, VS Achuthanandan, who participated in the seminar titled – ‘Nuclear Power Vs People’s Power’ said, “It has been 500 days since the struggle started. The central government has no clue as what to do with the nuclear waste. They speak of disposing it like garbage, like how the state government said it would dispose of Vilappilsala waste in a quarry,” he said.

Prof Ninan Koshy was a lot more critical of the government and said the Indian government led by a blind believer in nuclear energy was insensitive to the ramifications of Fukushima. “They have slapped sedition cases on the activists. This was the same law that was invoked against Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi by the British. Disloyalty to the government is not disloyalty to the Indian state. When such agitations are termed anti-national and anti-state, it is time to question who forms the state and who forms the nation,” he said.

Speaking at the seminar Prof RVG Menon said “Nuclear energy has peaked out. It has been around since the 1940; an advanced nation like Germany is beginning to invest heavily on alternative energy. But India believes that nuclear energy is the highest blessing of science. The only reason that nuclear power will be cheaper is because it has a lot of hidden social costs.”

1.This Month

EVENTS

August 5 – California– two hearings in San Luis Obispo to take public comments on issues that should be covered in
an environmental impact study on the license renewal project for Diablo Canyon Nuclear Station

HIROSHIMA and NAGASAKI ANNIVERSARIES

USA: Hiroshima Day Events Hiroshima Day events around the country. Check to see if there’s one in your area!

August 2, 2015 Sacramento, California August Peace EventPSR/Sacramento is again co-sponsoring the annual August Peace Event, which this year commemorates the 70th anniversary of the atom bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.August 5, 2015

Santa Monica, California Never Again – Hiroshima 70th Anniversary Vigil Please join PSR-Los Angeles on August 5th to remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki, help build awareness of the nuclear threat, and grow the movement for a safer, healthier, nuclear weapons free world.

August 6, 2015Kansas City, Missouri Hiroshima-Nagasaki: Seventy Years Beyond the Bombings In memory of the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Kansas City and PeaceWorks KC are hosting an exhibit at Miller Nichols Library.

August 6, 2015 Livermore, California 70 Years of Nuclear Weapons – At What Cost? San Francisco Bay Area PSR will join with a broad coalition of organizations to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

August 6, 2015 Seattle, Washington From Hiroshima to Hope Gather at Green Lake in Seattle for the annual lantern floating ceremony honoring victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all victims of war.

August 9 Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaHiroshima Day Memorial Co-sponsored by PSR Harrisburg/Hershey and featuring speaker Dr. John Reuwer on “Nuclear weapons then and now.”

PETITIONS

in Part 2 we have Jon Doe, a great Guest from Tokyo who graphically describes life in Japan. He begins with his experience and thoughts on the Great Japan earthquake that caused 3 nuclear reactors to have varying degrees of meltdowns and contamination of large areas in Japan. Contaminated Water, No Sex For Prime Minister Abe supporters campaign, Update report on Megumi Igarashi, (aka Rokudenashiko) who is a woman rights activist and erotic artist living in a country where women are treated lesser than men. Jon Doe also discusses the problems of the teenage sex trade in Japan.

We also discuss the situation in Okinawa and the clampdown on freedom of speech and the denial of the democratic process by the Tokyo government to quash dissent. We discuss media coverage of Fukushima.